Nigerian music star Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr P, has opened up about his greatest fear in life: poverty.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Nancy Isime Show, the singer said he is not afraid of death but fears being broke. He recounted a harrowing childhood experience when his family’s rented single-room apartment was demolished after the landlord sold the property.
“I am not afraid of death. The only thing I am afraid of in this life is poverty, of being broke,” Mr P said.
He detailed how his family of eight—his parents, six brothers, and two sisters—once lived in a cramped one-bedroom apartment, where they had to divide the room with a curtain. “We were living in a boys’ quarter, me, my mum, my dad, all of us. The whole family, six boys and two girls, living in a one-bedroom apartment,” he recalled.
He described the traumatic moment when a bulldozer arrived to demolish the building while the family was still inside. “We were trying to plead to get some time to plan our relocation, and then a bulldozer came and started demolishing the house while we were still in the building,” Mr P said.
The singer’s revelation highlights the personal challenges behind his rise to fame and serves as a reminder of the resilience that shaped his journey in the Nigerian music industry.